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' (No Model.)

I v I 5 Sheets-Sheet G. HILDRETH.

WIRE GOILING MACHINE- I No. 347,350. Patented Aug. 17,1886.

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5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model) G. HILDRETH. WIRE 00mm; MACHINE.

Patent ed AilgQl'Y, 1886.

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5 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

G. HILDRETH. WIRE GOILING MACHINE.

No. 341,350. Patented Aug. 1-7, 1886.

I NVENTU N. PETERS Phab- MP I. Walhingtofl. EC.

(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

G. HILDRETH.

V WIRE UOILING MAUHINE- No. 347,350. Patented Aug. 17, 1886.

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5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

(No Model.)

G. HILDRETH. WIRE 001mm MACHINE.

. Patented Aug. 17, 1886. 1?.10.

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MAW 1155555 N. PETERS Pmm-Um n mr, Washington. 0 c.

UNITED STATES PATENT ()FEIcE.

GEORGE HILDRETH,OF TROY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GEORGE w. PERCY AND JOHNE. GAITLEY,

BOTH OF SAME PLACE.

'WIRE-COILING MACHINE.

$PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 347,350, dated August17, 1886. 7

Application filed Decemherill, 1885. Serial No. 187,252. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE HILDRETH, a resident of the city of Troy; inthe county of Rensselaer and State of New,York, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Wire-Coiling Machines; and I do herebydeclare that'the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, that will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

Similar letters refer to similar parts in the several figures therein.

The object of my invention is to bend wire into coils of variouskinds-such as a continuous spiral or a connected series of c'onicalhelices or helispherical coils adapted to be cut or severed at intervalsto form separate spiral or helical coilsin such a manner that thesuccessive coils or helices in a series shall be uniform in shape andsize. Various devices have heretofore been employed for this purpose,whereby wire has been forced by feedrolls against a loose forming-rolladjustable in position relatively to the feed-rolls; but in such devicesthe forming-roll was removed from its contiguous feed-roll a distancegreater than the diameter of the wire, and this dis tance was variedwhenever the forming roll was adjustably moved. In such a formofconstruction a variation in the quality of-the wire would produce avariation in the form of the successive coils. For example, should theresiliency of the wire be greater in one place than another it would notbe permanently bent by the distantformer to the same degree of curvaturethat other and softer portions would be; and as it is impracticable, ifnot impossible, to produce a long wire of exactly the same quality andtemper throughout its length,

the successive coils would necessarily differ in form, according to thetemper and quality of the wire.

My invention consists in providing a wirefeeding-roll,upon which thewire is bent,with a forming-roll'for bending the wire, concentricallyrevoluble in a pivoted supportingframe about said feed-roll and distanttherefrom a suitable distance to cause the two rolls to grip andconcurrently feed and bend the wireas it passes between them, and inproviding means for adjusting the position of the forming-roll in itssupporting-frame, whereby it can be adapted for use in coiling wire ofdifferent Fig. 10 is a top plan view of a cam-operated slide foractuating, through slide R, the deflector. Fig. 11 is a front elevationof the detached frame which supports the formingroll and the deflector.Fig. 12 is a backelevation of frame shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 13 is a sideview of the deflector operating cam; Fig. 14 is a side view of the camfor operating the pivoted frame which supports the forming-roll. Fig.-15 is a side view of the cam which operates the wire-severing device.Fig. 16 represents a double helical spring. Fig. 17 is a detail view incross-section on line w w of Fig. 1, and Fig. 18 is a view in detail ofthe side and edge of the fixed deflector. Fig. 19 is a detail view ofthe loose guide-roll between the grooved pulleys, both separate and onits screw-pivot.

A is the frame of the machine, which supports the various parts,including the wirefeeding rolls a, which are connected with each otherand with the driving mechanism by gearwheels, as shown in Fig. 4, bywhich they are actuated to feed a wire (shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1)along between the forming-roll C and the last feed-roll in the series.The forming-roll O is journaled in a box, (shown by dotted lines in Fig.1,) which is supported by the frame B, pivoted concentrically with thefeed-roll a. The box of the forming-roll is adapted to slide in a slot,B, in the frame to and from the last roll a, and is secured in thedesired position by the adjusting-screw C. The. frame B is also providedwith the wiredeflector D, adapted to slide laterally in a slot,

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(F, in the pivoted frame. This deflector is shown in detail in Figs. 7,S, and 9, Fig. 7 being the face view shown in Fig. 1 of the head, whichis a metallic plate beveled to a thin edge on the side contiguous to theforming-roll, and Fig. 8 being a side elevation showing the shank (7.adapted to slidein the slot (Z (shown in Figs. 11 and 12,) and d the pinwhich slides in the aperture shown in guide it, and engages with theactuating-arm It on the slide It, the slide being supported by andsliding on pins 2', passing through slots 1'' in the slide. The slide isactuated by another slide, T. (Shown in detail in Fig. 11.) This slideis provided at one end with a beveled point, '1, which aet-uatestheslide It. The slide T is provided at its other end with a frictionalroll, t", whichrides upon the cam Q. (Shownin detail in Fig. 13.) Thecam is attached to shaft Q, which is actuated by the eogged wheel \V,secured thereon. \VheelWV is connected by wheels \V and \V with pinion\Y on the main driving-shaft S. This shaft is also provided withgear-wheel \V', which actuates the wheels XV, \V, \V, and \V to drivethe feed-roll shafts L L, said shafts being provided with meshing gears\V and (shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4,) which causes them to rotate inopposite directions, thereby impelling the wire introduced within theseries of fecd-rolls onward toward the formingroll and deflectors. Theshaft Q is also provided with cam M, (shown detached in side elevationin Fig. 15,) which operates the hammer F. The hammer is pivoted to theframe at c, and is provided with an arm, j, which rides upon the cam, asshown in Fig. 1. As the spur m of the cam passes from under the arm,after lifting the hammer, the latter falls upon the ehisel-head G, tocut off the wire passing thereunder. The force of the downward blow ofthe hammer may be increased by means of a spring, as S. There may beused an auxiliary chisel or edged anvil, g, be neath the chisel to cutthe wire upon two sides. The same shaft, (3., is also provided with camK, the office of which is to automatically actuate the pivoted frame 13,which supports forming-roll U.

The slotted arm J, pivoted to the frame at J, carries a friction-roller,j,which rides upon the cam K, and is connected with the frame B byalink, 11 H. The frame B is also provided with a horizontal arm, 1),adapted to receive a weight, which may be hung from the hook shown inthe drawings. The tendency of the weight is to maintain the frame 13 ina vertical position in which the formingroll is vertically over the lastof the feed-rolls, in which position wire passing through the machinewould remain unbent.

The act-ion of the cam K is against the resistance of the weighttoturnthe frame B upon its pivot, to bend the passing wire. The more the frameis revolved or turned the more will the wire be bent.

The action of the cam K. upon the movable frame may be modified by meansof the adjustable connection of the link H H with arm J. A spur from thelink, adapted to slide longitudinally of the slot shown in the arm, canbe held at any desired point therein by the nut J The nearer the pivotof the arm the end of the link is secured the less will be its movement.The link may also be adjustablelongitudinally by means of the threadednut 1, fitting upon the threaded end of section II, which passes througha correspondingly-threaded aperture in the contiguous ends of sectionII, as shown in Fig. 1.

The operation of the machine in forming a double helical coil or bedspring, like that shown in Fig. 16, is as follows: One end of a wire, ofany desired length, isinserted between the feed-rolls, and by themforced along over the anvilg, to and past the forming-roll Canddeflector 1), as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1. The rolls and cams,being all driven by a common shaft, S, their relative action isautomatic, and the cams being all secured to shaft Q, the whole duty ofeach cam is performed at every rotation of the shaft. \Vhen the cam K isin the position shown in Fig. 11, the formingroll is turned over almostto its extreme limit of revolution, and the wire is bent to form thesmall coils of the spring. \Vhen the cam advances a half-revolution,that portion having thcshorter radius is in contact with thefrictionroller on armJ, and the weighted arm i forces the former-roll upnearer a vertical position relatively to the last feed-roll, and thelarger coils of the bed-spring are formed. As the wire passes from theformer-roll, it strikes the deileetor, secured on the movable frame B bya screw or bolt,as shown, and is bent or deflected laterally from itsstraight line of passage throughthefeed-rolls. A. fixed deflector wouldseparate the coils of the spring by a fixed a11- gle of deflection; butthe sliding deflector I), acted upon by the cam (3, through slides T andR, automatically varies the angle of deflection, which separates some ofthe coils more widely than others. The fixed deflector D is essentiallythe same in form as the defiector 1), and is secured to the frame B soas to be vertically adjusted by a screw-bolt and nut, as shown in Fig. 1of the drawings. The fixed deflector being unnecessary when theadjustable deflector is used,it is not shown in all the figures. Thus ateach revolution of the shaft Q, I am able to make a complete spring,and, unless the springs are cut from the main wire, a series ofconnected springs. I prefer, however, to cut off each spring as made,and for this purpose make use of the chisel g. (Shown partly by dottedlines in Fig. 1.) \Vhen the wire has reached the proper point to be cutoff,the arm in of cam M,which has lifted the hammer F, passes from underthe arm f, and the hammer falls upon the chisel-head with sufficientforce to partly sever the wire, leaving the connection sufficientlystrong to draw the remaining wire forward between the feed-rolls untilthe partly-severed portion reaches the forming-roll, which bends andbreaks the wire at that point.

By employing differently-shaped cams I am able to producedifferently-shaped coils,and to vary the degree of deflection of thecoils as desired. A limited variation can also be produced with the samecams by adjusting the length of the link H H or its point of attachmentto arm J, as before described. The slide T is also adjustable in length,being made in two sections, and having an adjusting-screw, 13 forsliding one section upon the other, as shown in Fig. 10.

The rolls maysome or all of them be grooved, as shown in Figs. 2, 5, and6, to prevent lateral slipping of the wire thereon.

The pivoted frame B may be turned by hand to cause the formingroll .O tobend and form the coils of wire, either by grasping the frame itself orthe weight-supporting arm E. The frame may also be brought-back to itsnormal or vertical position by a spring, E, (shown by dotted lines inFig. 1,) instead of by a weight on arm E, when desired. The deflector Dmay also be operated by hand when desired.

The natural tension of the wire, as it isfed against the deflector, issufficient to force back the slides R and T and keep the friction-roll tin contact with the operating-cam Q without the use of weights orsprings.

The screws a serve to adjust the position of the feed-rolls a relativeto each other. By turning the screws to the right the upper roll isforced down nearer the lower roll to grip the wire more firmly, and byturning the screw back the rolls may be farther separated to admit alarger wire.

1? represents the loose guide-rolls between the grooved rolls a, saidguide-rolls being mounted on slotted slides adjustable by means of thescrews 1) in the slots 1)". These slides p are cut out at p" to slide inthe T- shaped projection a through which passes the adjusting-screws1)", so as to bear against the slides for the purpose of adjusting themand with them the loose rolls.

The form of the idlers is not essential. and no claim is made thereto.

I make the aro-slot S and the straight slot Sin the curved and straightarms, respectively, of the segment S which is pivoted to themachine-frame at its end directly above the shaft S of the wheel W Thesegment is capable of being swung on its pivot, in order to be adjustedfor different sizes of wheels W. A setscrew passes through slot S andscrews into the frame, so as to hold the segment at whatever adjustmentit may be placed.

The object of,adjus'ting the formingroll, by sliding its box in slot Bon a line radial to the pivot of frame B, is to accommodate the machineto different sizes of wires.

In changing the adjustment from that adapted for smallwire to thatadapted to larger wire, the journal-box of the forming-roll is permittedto slide outward from the pivotal center of the supporting-frame B, byturning back the by a wire can be fed'between said rolls and bent by oneof said rolls about the other, substantially as described, and for thepurposes set forth.

2. In a wire-coiling machine having one or more pairs of feed-rolls forfeeding wire to a forming-roll, the combination, with a separatefeed-roll, of a roll-supporting frame, B, pivoted concentrically withsaid feed-roll, and a forming-roll, G, provided with journal-boxesmovable in said frame on a line passing radially through its pivot,substantially as described, and for the purposes set forth.

3. In a wire-coiling machine, the combination, with a series offeedingrolls, a, of a forming-roll carried in a frame which is revolubleabout one of the feed rolls and pivoted concentrically therewith, theperipheries of the two rolls being separated from each other a distanceabout equal to the diameter of the wire to be coiled, whereby the rollsare adapted to concurrently feed and bend the wire, substantially asdescribed, and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 26th day ofDecember, 1885.

GEORGE H ILDRETH.

\Vitnesses:

GEO. A. MosHER, W. H. HOLLISTER, Jr.

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